It’s Bond. James Bond.

Bond insisted on ordering Leiter’s Haig-and-Haig ‘on the rocks’ and then he looked carefully at the barman.

‘A dry martini’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’

‘Oui, monsieur.’

‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then a large thick slice of lemon peel. Got it?”

‘Certainly, monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

‘Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,’ said Leiter.

Bond laughed. “When I’m … er … concentrating,’ he explained, ‘I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I can think of a good name.’

— Excerpt from Casino Royale, Ian Fleming

God, I love Ian Fleming. And I am not using either name in vain. I am not a big reader. I read books that Smarts tell me to read and then I have guilty pleasures like Fleming. But frankly even that wasn’t my own idea. I became obsessed as a teen one summer reading my dad’s old paperbacks — and he’s a Smart. One of my friend’s husbands has a collection of Fleming’s first editions and I couldn’t possibly be more jealous.

And in case you’re wondering, Bond is a Fun Structure — quick on his feet, logical with emotions buried down deep — and Ian Fleming was likely a Smart Structure — as a former naval intelligence officer, he was smart enough to know that the best field agent would have to be the equivalent of a Fun Structure. How do I know Fleming wasn’t writing about himself? Fleming masterminded two successful intelligence operations during WWII — Operation Mincemeat and Operation Goldeneye — and ran a specialized group of commandos, known as 30 commando. A movie is due out on them this year, Age of Heroes. An actual Fun Structure would have wanted to BE a commando, not command them, which is what a Smart Structure would want to do. Plus, a Fun Structure would never have the patience to sit and write a plethora of novels about a spy. 

The Vesper

3 measures Gordon’s Gin
1 measure vodka
1/2 measure Kina Lillet
1 thick slice of lemon peel for garnish

Combine ingredients — except garnish — in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until it’s ice-cold then pour into a deep champagne goblet.